Month: July 2009

The new uniform for the Indios soccer team for the 2009-2010 campaign was presented recently in the Centro Cultural Paso Del Norte in Ciudad Juarez.

After videos displaying the pride of being a juarense and having a First Division team along the border, the team went on stage and the players were presented one by one. The most applauded and acclaimed of the night were Captain Edwin Santibanez, Daniel "El Maleno" Frias and Javier Hernan Malagueno.

During this social gathering, a video showed the manufacturing of the new uniforms 100% hecho en Mexico, made with Mexican fabrics by Mexican workers by hand. Franco Stalla, Director of Kappa International said Indios joined the ranks of such great teams like Roma and Valencia, whose uniforms were also made by the Kappa brand.

In dramatic fashion, over-the-top performances by dancers in indigenous-simulated garments commenced the fashion show of the Indios uniform in white, red and black.

Hello all!!! After an approximate 2 month break its good to be back covering the Indios. In less than 24 hours the Apertura 2009 season will kick off for the Indios and according to Head Coach, Hector Hugo Eugui the team is ready for the challenge ahead. "The team is complete," were coach Eugui's words today as he addressed the press in today's press conference. The Head Coach for the Tribe called for order and patience on the field of play as once again the main goal for this team is to accumulate points in order for relegation not to become a factor as the soccer year progresses.

Eugui also confirmed today what he has been acknowledging for about the last week and a half that Daniel "El Maleno" Frias will get the start tomorrow as forward for the Tribe as they go up against Rayados de Monterrey. Hector Gimenez and the newly acquired Brazilian forward Rodrigao will play the role of back ups, coming in off the bench as needed. The local hero will get the start for the team from the Borderland despite the other two aforementioned forwards are in "plenty good form," according to Eugui.

Indios beat Monterrey two weeks ago in La Jolla, Texas by the minimal difference (1-0) in a game were the majority of the starters for the Tribe did not see any action. Despite that, the team stood its ground very well, defensively speaking, and little by little generated more and more offensive threats as the game progressed. Gimenez did a great job coming off the bench and becoming an instant offensive threat which lead to him scoring the gol that gave Indios the victory. The game tomorrow against the same opponent will be more complicated as both teams intend to start their respective seasons on the right foot by accumulating the first three points that are up for grabs.

I'm curious to see how the left and right lateral fullbacks are going function for the Tribe. On the right side, newly acquired Luis Garcia is going to get the start. It will be interesting to see how many offensive options he generates from that sector of the field and how he and Indios Captain Edwin Santibanez will play together and move the ball up the right side to create legitimate scoring threats. On the left side there are three players that can get the start. Edwin Hernandez, Tomas Campos, or Daniel Galvan can all be called upon by Eugui come gametime. Any of these three men can fill the role at this position without any problem. This position is usually belongs to Hernandez but he is not fully recovered from an injury that forced him to sit out a majority of the Clausura 2009 season. Tomas Campos filled that position nicely a majority of last season. However, as of late Galvan has been doing things very well at that position and has seen a lot of playing time this preseason, definitely earning him plenty of consideration to be a starter tomorrow.

Monterrey coach, Victor Manuel Vucetich was quoted as saying that Indios "……will play the same way as they did last season. With few player changes, they will not change much and the team will continue to carry out their tactical scheme in the same manner as they did last year." A rather simple analysis courtesy of the opposing team's head coach, which leads me to think there is either little respect for the Tribe or overconfidence on Vucetich's behalf. Either way, come tomorrow night I think he will be in for one heck of a surprise. Until next time, VAMOS Indios!!!

Alain Nkong has the distinction of being the first and only African to win a league title in Mexico, after helping Atlante win the Apertura 2007 championship.

He is also known as a nomadic striker.

In Nkong's 10-year career the Cameroonian has played in over five different leagues. Now, Nkong is back in Mexico hoping he can repeat his success, but this time with Indios de Ciudad Juarez which have acquired him on his now customary one-year contract.

“There is one week left of work, so I am working hard, so that by the 25th I can be at 100 percent,” Nkong told reporters after Indios training session.